Venue History
The vision for Coachman Park started at the turn of the century, with one of the founders of the Clearwater area, Edward Horace Coachman, who along with his brother S.S. owned most of the land in downtown Clearwater. In 1943, Edward sold a large parcel of land to the City of Clearwater with the stipulation that part of it would be used for a public waterfront park and library for residents to enjoy. The City of Clearwater brought this dream to fruition and in November 1957, a band shell was built in the park, which began the city’s musical legacy.
Since the band shell’s inception, Coachman Park has become home to both Clearwater Jazz Holiday and Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival, leaving major footprints that bring people worldwide to Clearwater. Due in large parts to these incredibly successful events, it has become hard to ignore that Clearwater is now a nationally recognized hub for both jazz and blues music scenes, which in turn has created iconic events starring a wide variety of musical artists that continues to contribute to the city and Florida’s musical legacy.
This ripple effect inspired the City of Clearwater’s Imagine Clearwater campaign in 2016. The plan included a permanent and larger concert venue, updated public art spaces and improved green space, as well as a gateway plaza and bluff connecting the park to downtown. The local community voiced all of these components of the new vision.
Moving forward with their venue plans, in May 2022, the Clearwater City Council selected Ruth Eckerd Hall to manage and operate the concert venue, continuing Ruth Eckerd Hall’s legacy of providing high-quality entertainment to the Tampa Bay area.
The name for the new venue, “The Sound,” was officially announced on March 8, 2023.
The weeklong Grand Opening Celebration of Coachman Park took place from June 28 through July 4 and included a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
The venue received immediate praise from high-profile artists, including Ringo Starr who stated, “I love this venue!” as well as Tommy Shaw of STYX who claimed, “I’d say this is the best-sounding amphitheater we ever played!”
On March 7, 2024, the Clearwater City Council approved by unanimous consent the official naming sponsor for the city’s outdoor music venue to be BayCare, the leading, not-for-profit health care system in West Central Florida that connects individuals and families to nationally ranked, high quality health care. The new name of the venue is The BayCare Sound.
Explore past concerts and events below!
2023
Jun 28 • Free Event with Cheap Trick and special guest Robin Taylor Zander
Jun 29 • Free Event with The Black Honkeys
Jun 30 • Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw
Jul 1 • Dave Koz Summer Horns with Candy Dulfer & Eric Darius
Jul 2 • Peter Frampton
Jul 4 • 4th of July Fireworks with a live performance from The Florida Orchestra
Jul 7 • Sad Summer Fest with Taking Back Sunday, The Maine, PVRIS, Mom Jeans, Stand Atlantic with special guests L.S. Dunes, Hot Mulligan and Cliffdiver
Jul 15 • Greg Gutfeld with special guest Tom Shillue
Jul 21 • Michael Franti & Spearhead
Jul 24 • Goo Goo Dolls with special guest O.A.R.
Jul 29 • John Fogerty with Hearty Har
Sep 9 • Billy Currington with Jessie James Decker
Aug 16 • Kenny Loggins with Pablo Cruise
Sep 26 • Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band
Oct 7 • Hooter's 40th Anniversary with Chicago
Oct 19-22 • Clearwater Jazz Holiday
Oct 28 • Sammy Hagar with special guests George Thorogood & The Destroyers and Damon Fowler
Nov 7 • LPGA Kick-Off Event with Goo Goo Dolls
Nov 10 • Chris Young with Nate Smith and BRELAND
Nov 16 • Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
Nov 18 • Dwight Yoakam with Charley Crockett and Annie Bosko
Dec 3 • 97X Next Big Thing with The Black Keys, Bleachers, Lovejoy and more
Dec 4 • Clearwater Neighborhood Coalition Holiday Meeting
Dec 14 • Steve Miller Band with special guest Samantha Fish Band
Dec 15 • Clearwater's Polar Express Experience
2024
Jan 5 • STYX with special guest 38 Special
Jan 15 • Martin Luther King Jr., Parade & Rally
Feb 10 • Willie Nelson & Family with Amos Lee
Mar 23 • Air Supply & Little River Band
Mar 24 • Joe Bonamassa
Apr 5 • Alabama with Diamond Rio
Apr 28 • Social Distortion & Bad Religion with special guest The Lovebombs
May 4 • RAIN - A Tribute To The Beatles
May 9 • Diana Ross
May 15 • Maloney & Novotny Campaus Connect Event
May 20 • Clearwater High School Graduation (1st School Graduation Held at The BayCare Sound)
Jun 27 • Clearwater Young Professionals Summer Session featuring The Ries Brothers
Jul 4 • Clearwater Celebrates America
Jul 6 • 20 Years of Tears with Anberlin, Hawthorne Heights, I See Stars, Armor for Sheep, Emery and The Wild Life
Jul 27 • Sad Summer Fest with Mayday Parade, The Maine, The Wonder Years, We the Kings, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, Hot Milk, Daisy Grenade, and Diva Bleach
Aug 1 • Fin Fest - Jimmy Buffett Celebration
Aug 2 • Blue October with Switchfoot and Matt Nathanson
Aug 3 • Dirty Heads & Slightly Stoopid with special guests Common Kings and The Elovators
Aug 5 • Straight No Chaser with Chris Kirkpatrick of NSYNC & O-Town
Aug 8 • UB40 with special guests The English Beat and Maxi Priest
Aug 9 • The Black Honkeys
Aug 10 • Slash S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival
Aug 11 • Classic Albums Live: The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band with Florida Rock Symphony
Sep 20 • Squeeze & Boy George
Oct 23 • Barenaked Ladies with special guests Toad the Wet Sprocket
Nov 10 • The Florida Orchestra presents Symphony By The Sea
Nov 11 • Daryl Hall with special guest Howard Jones
Nov 12 • LPGA Kick-Off Event with TRAIN
Nov 14 • Dwight Yoakam & The Mavericks with Drayton Farley
Nov 15 • O.A.R. with special guests Ripe with The Ries Brothers
Nov 16 • The Avett Brothers
Nov 19 • It Was 50 Years Ago Today - A Tribute To The Beatles with Christopher Cross, Maxi Priest, Jason Scheff
Dec 7 • 97X Next Big Thing 23 with The All-American Rejects, Something Corporate, Dayglow & more
Dec 8 • Clearwater Latin Jazz Fest
Dec 10 • St. Petersburg College Graduation
Dec 11 • Alan Parsons Live Project with Florida Rock Symphony
Dec 13 • The Polar Express Experience
Dec 14 • Bret Michaels with special guests Night Ranger and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister
Dec 17 • Kenny G
Dec 20 • Classic Albums Live - Pink Floyd: The Wall with Florida Rock Symphony
2025
Jan 11 • STYX with special guest Loverboy
Jan 25 • Melissa Etheridge with Lisa Loeb and Maggie Rose
Feb 8 • Alice Cooper
Feb 15 • Willie Nelson & Randall King
Feb 22 • Of The Trees with special guests Freddy Todd, Saka X Fly and Detox Unit
Feb 23 • Wallows
Mar 8 • Dropkick Murphys with The Menzingers and Teenage Bottlerocket
Mar 15 • Foreigner with 38 Special
Mar 16 • Diana Ross
Mar 29 • Little River Band with Special Guest John Waite
Mar 31 • Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts SchoolTime Series Free Community Event with Roger Day
Apr 11 • Chicago
Apr 12 • Lane 8 with special guest Otherwish
Apr 13 • Air Supply with special guest Taylor Dayne
Apr 17 • Warren Zeiders with special guest Tyler Braden
Apr 18 • Khruangbin with special guest Helado Negro
May 1 • Remi Wolf with Dana and Alden
May 2 • Ruth Eckerd Hall Spring Benefit presents In The Air Tonight with Tom Jones
May 3 • Liquid Stranger with special guests INZO, TVBOO, b2b Jentsen, Shlump & Gardella
May 10 • Elderbrook with Eli & Fur and Jerro
May 12 • St. Petersburg College Graduation
May 13 • St. Petersburg College Graduation
May 17 • HAUSER
May 28 • Pinellas County High School Graduations: Largo, Seminole, Lakewood, Pinellas Park
May 29 • Pinellas County High School Graduations: Dixie Hollins, Northeast, Boca Ciega, St Pete
May 30 • Pinellas County High School Graduations: Osceola, Clearwater, Gibbs, Countryside
Jun 7 • Old Dominion with Ernest and Redferrin
Jun 15 • Nikki Glaser
Jun 18 • Rainbow Kitten Surprise with special guest Michael Marcagi
Jun 21 • Ringo Starr And His All-Starr Band
Jun 27 • Slightly Stoopid with special guests Iration and Little Stranger
Jul 4 • Clearwater Celebrates America
Jul 20 • Counting Crows with special guests The Gaslight Anthem
Aug 3 • Brad Paisley with special guests Walker Hays and Alexandra Kay
Aug 21 • UB40 with special guests The Fixx
Aug 24 • ASTROPICAL - Rawayana & Bomba Estereo with Yendry
Sep 10 • Dream Theater
Sep 11 • Lee Brice with special guests Ashley Cooke and Lewis Brice
Sep 15 • Leon Bridges with Charley Crockett and special guest Reyna Tropical
Sep 17 • 97X Next Big Thing Legends featuring Cage The Elephant
Sep 25 • "Weird Al" Yankovic with special guest Puddles Pity Party
Sep 27 • Alison Krauss & Union Station with special guest Willie Watson
Oct 12 • Tedeschi Trucks Band with special guest Duane Betts
Oct 14 • T-PAIN with special guest Earthgang and Armani White
Oct 25 • Cole Swindell with special guests Priscilla Block & Greylan James
Nov 11 • LPGA Kick-Off Event with Fitz & The Tantrums
Nov 13 • Greensky Bluegrass
Nov 14 • Russell Dickerson
Nov 15 • All Time Low with special guests Mayday Parade, Four Year Strong, The Paradox Dec 4 • Dark Star Orchestra
Dec 7 • A Whoville Holiday at The BayCare Sound
Dec 15 • St. Petersburg College Winter Graduation
2026
Feb 14 • INZO with special guests TRUTH, Late Night Radio, Zen Selekta & Blookah
Feb 27 • STYX with special guest Cheap Trick
Mar 6 • Little River Band with special guest Billy Joel Legends - The Lords of 52nd Street
Mar 7 • Bret Michaels with special guest Tesla
Mar 9 • Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts SchoolTime Series Free Community Event with Roger Day
Mar 11 • BayCare Physician Mixer
Mar 20 • 98ROCKFEST featuring Three Days Grace, I Prevail, Sleep Theory, The Funeral Portrait, The Pretty Wild and Skratch 'N Sniff
Mar 21 • Joe Bonamassa with special guest Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram
Mar 29 • Alan Parsons Live Project with Florida Rock Symphony
Apr 11 • Dwight Yoakam with special guests Flatland Cavalry and Chayce Beckham
Apr 17 • Goose
Apr 18 • Foreigner with a special appearance by Lou Gramm and special guest Night Ranger
Apr 24 • SATCHVAI Band feat. Joe Satriani & Steve Vai with Animals As Leaders
Apr 30 • Alabama Shakes with special guest Lamont Landers
May 13 • Bush - The Land of Milk and Honey Tour featuring Mammoth & James and the Cold Gun
May 17 • Willie Nelson with special guest Lily Meola
May 21 • Sam Barber The American Route Tour with special guests Michael Marcagi and Bebe Stockwell